China on Monday obliquely criticised the India-Japan agreement on nuclear energy by pointing out that all countries are entitled to peaceful use of atomic energy, so long as they abide by “the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.”
“With regard to nuclear agreement signed between India and Japan and on the use nuclear energy we believe that under the promise of absorbing international obligation of nuclear non- proliferation, all countries are entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang observed during his regular briefing.
“At the same time, the relevant cooperation should be conducive to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” he said.
‘NPT is the cornerstone’
China maintains that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India has not signed, is the cornerstone of preventing the spread of atomic weapons.
In a separate statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on the November 11 meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna, which discussed the, “Two-Step Intergovernmental Process to Address the Issue of Non-NPT States’ Participation.”
The meeting follows India’s bid to become a full member of the 48-nation NSG. China has so far opposed India’s membership, citing the need for evolving a common criteria for all non-members of the NPT, which includes Pakistan.
The Foreign Ministry statement said the Vienna meeting was held to discuss, “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of Non-NPT States’ Participation in the NSG,” in accordance with the mandate adopted in June during the grouping’s meeting in Seoul. It added that the meeting held in the Austrian capital was a maiden attempt since the NSG’s inception in 1975, by the Group to formally take up non-NPT states’ participation “in an open and transparent manner.”
India still out of consideration
However, the statement reiterated China’s insistence on linking NSG membership with the NPT — a formulation that rules out India’s membership to the grouping. “China maintains that, any formula [for membership] worked out should be non-discriminatory and applicable to all non-NPT states; without prejudice to the core value of the NSG and the effectiveness, authority and integrity of the international non-proliferation regime with the NPT as its cornerstone; and without contradicting the customary international law in the field of non-proliferation.”
India has underscored that NPT membership was not essential for joining the NSG, as was the case with France. Highly placed sources said that during bilateral talks with the Chinese, India has insisted that the NSG was not a non-proliferation, but an “export control” mechanism. Its NSG entry bid should, therefore, be de-linked from the criteria of NPT membership.
‘Good beginning’
The Foreign Ministry statement highlighted that “the above meeting marks a good beginning of the two-step inter-governmental process launched by the Group.”
It added that the first step for membership was the evolution of “formula,” which would be followed by a second step, which would be “country-specific.”
“China supports the continuation of this open and transparent inter-governmental process, in accordance with relevant rules of the Group, and to ensure a solid first step taken towards an early formula on the above issue, so that the Group can proceed to the second step of taking up country-specific membership application by non-NPT states at an early date,” the statement said.
